


Gods, Men, Kings.

by metal_arm_metal_shield



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Castle AU, M/M, Medieval AU, Peasant AU, prince AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 05:48:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6317023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/metal_arm_metal_shield/pseuds/metal_arm_metal_shield
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prince Daniel had grown up in a palace; surrounded by wealth, with a life of glory laid before him<br/>He had never known want.<br/>Until his eyes beheld Philip.<br/>He could have everything he ever wanted, except for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gods, Men, Kings.

**Author's Note:**

> *TW* Really brief mentions of rape and gore.

Prince Daniel woke up to the sound of birds singing joyfully outside his window.  
He rolled over and grasped the luxurious and soft bed covers, pulling them up to his chin. Today was the day. He was finally a man, finally eighteen. He smiled sleepily to himself, eagerly anticipating the day that was before him. There was to be a celebratory ball that night, but this morning it was custom that he held court with his father, the King, and as today was his first day as a man in the eyes of the realm he would sit on the consul with the other advisories of the King and give his opinions on the issues presented to the court.  
Daniel indulged in the blissful dosey stage between awake and asleep for a few minutes more, enjoying what he knew would be the last moments of quiet on this momentous day. He was excited, he knew that his father would be too. There was a soft knocking at the door and he sat upright immediately.  
"Come in!" he said as invitingly as possible whilst simultaneously yawning.  
The grand doors swung open and in walked two maids, their shoes clip-clopping on the polished floor. Daniel ran a hand through his hair that curled onto his forehead.  
"Good morning, Prince Daniel. Happy birthday!" the older maid, Lady, said happily. Daniel had known Lady all of his life, with her long sliver hair tied back into a tight knot and kind, tired eyes. She had been his nanny when he was a baby and had been like a mother to him since the day he was born, kissing him goodnight, tending to his grazed knees, and sneaking him extra servings of cake, all whilst his mother and father were busy ruling the kingdom. He loved his mother and father, dearly, though Daniel did wish that they were closer. When he first leaned how to speak Daniel could not pronounce her real name, Labily , properly, so he named her Lady, and it had stuck.  
"Good morning, Lady," replied Daniel after another long yawn. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and stretched, feeling satisfied when he heard his back crack quietly. The other maid, Daniel believed her name was Theodora, had gone to fetch some water for him to bathe in, thus leaving him alone with Lady.  
Dan stood up and stepped down from his four poster bed, feeling the cool marble floor beneath his feet. Should he feel different, now that he's a man? Should every pound of flesh he had be held with more authority? Should he feel older? He didn't think that he would, but now? He felt light, and happy as always, which is no wonder. Daniel had never known sadness, he had always been surrounded by wealth, he never fell ill, and he was the heir to one of the largest and most beautiful kingdoms in the world. Why would he ever feel sad?

After bathing in water scented with jasmine oil and dressing in his finery Daniel went to the kitchens with Lady to hunt for some late breakfast. The kitchen was large and both wall and floor were made of hard stone. A fire burned merrily in the corner, despite it being a summers day. Daniel could smell cooking meat already, and knew that the preparations for tonight's ball were well underway, and had been since the night before. To his pleasant surprise she had made him lemon cake, his favourite, which he looked at longingly as the drizzled glaze glittered under the light. She followed his gaze and tutted.  
"I asked Theodora to put that away...I wanted to surprise you. Silly girl, always has her head in the clouds!"  
Daniel rounded the kitchen table, laden with bowls and pots and jars, and kissed Lady on top of her head. He had been a full head taller than her ever since his sixteenth birthday.  
"Thank you, Lady," he said, pulling her in for a hug. She smelled so familiar; like soap and lavender sugar.  
"You're welcome, darling," she said before breaking apart and shooting him a mischievous grin. 

"Now, do you want one slice or two?"

 

Daniel sat on a long, wooden bench along with the rest of the King's royal advisories to the left of his fathers large, ornately carved throne. It was a gloriously hot day and all the windows in the great hall were open to allow the sunshine to stream in, casting beautiful beams across the tapestries and stags horns that adorned the walls of the sprawling room.  
To be honest, Daniel felt more than a bit bored.  
He expected the people of the kingdom to bring serious matters to his father, not cases of stolen chickens or broken fences, but the king was a good man and treated every case as seriously and as fairly as possible. The hall was crowded, save for a rectangular shape in front of the throne where the hearings took place, and many people, both noble and common alike, had wished Daniel a happy birthday, to which he offered them a kind smile, a firm hand shake, and a sincere "thank you".  
His father was currently dealing with a man that had a family of seven but could only be a few years older than himself, who was being accused of stealing a bag of grain from the market. He was rather short and as thin as a runner bean, with tatty clothes and dirty fingernails.  
"My crop failed this season," said the man solemnly, looking intently at the floor. "My wife and children were starving. I offered to pay the vendor later, but he looked at me like I was dirt. I had no choice..."  
The king sat forward in his chair, his forehead creased in thought.  
"What is your name, good sir?" The King's voice was loud and clear, natural to that of a ruler.  
The man looked up, despair evident in his eyes "Samwell," he stated "Samwell Donnelly."  
"Well, Sir Donnelly, I am sorry for the fail of your crop, but you owe this man. After your next harvest I decree that you give him what you owe; no more no less. Have you food to sustain your family at present?"  
"Yes, your grace."  
"Very well, that settles it then. You are both free to go."  
Samwell looked up to my father in disbelief. In any other kingdom he would have lost a hand or been whipped, or something else barbaric, as a penalty for the crime of theft. But not by Daniel's father, who was known to be the most just ruler in all the land.  
"Thank you, your grace... thank you! Thank-"  
The doors at the opposite end of the great hall bust open with a bang, and shouting could be heard clearly from beside the throne. People parted like the red sea as the shouting drew closer and closer, louder and louder. Suddenly, Daniel could see two royal guards, panting and red of face kneeling before my father, trying to communicate with him over the din.  
Then Daniel heard a blood curdling scream followed by the yelling of men.  
"He's getting away! Quickly, catch him!"  
"Over there!"  
"Come here, boy!"  
The chaos subdued and suddenly there was a boy being shoved before my father. He shrugged off the hands that had pushed him and straightened himself up before looking at the King, a challenging look in his piercing blue eyes. He was tall and thin, wearing an old and filthy cavalry jacket, with worn cuffs and missing buttons. His hair was black , like the soot left in the kitchen fireplace at the end of a winters night, and it seemed to bounce off his skin that looked like fresh pouring cream.  
Daniel's was captivated by him, but his father was not happy.  
"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded, the kind hearted man from before vanishing before the courts very eyes.  
Silence fell across the hall and a guard stepped from the crowd, only to be broken by the sound of a guard's armour as he emerged from the crowd.  
"He was brawling in the street just outside the castle walls," said the guard, throwing look of disgust at him. "Pulled a knife on innocent Lord Bennett, of all people-"  
"Innocent?!" the man burst out, shocking everyone, including Daniel.  
He had a venom in his eyes that Daniel had never seen, and it sent chills down his spine.  
He spoke through gritted teeth, which made his jawline protrude and his entire form appear menacing."That "innocent" bastard tried to rape my sister, a girl of only thirteen! And I put a stop to it, and so help me I would've cut off his measly balls if I had-"

"SILENCE," bellowed the King, and an uneasy quiet fell across the hall, save for the deep, angry breaths of the raven haired man.  
"If what you're saying is true," started the King "then I'd have to imprison Lord Bennett and put him on trial... who are you?"  
The man looked straight at Daniel's father, with only determination and defiance in his eyes, there was no trace of fear.   
"Philip Lester."  
"And have we met before Philip?"  
"No, your grace. I am... well I'm not important."  
"Any child of the kingdom is important, Philip."  
Philip looked away, pain written on his features.  
"If that was true, you wouldn't have let that monster of a man kill my sister."  
Daniels heart stopped in his chest. The sadness, the pity, he felt was overwhelming. It consumed him; a darkness that he had never known before.  
The King bowed his head.  
"I am truly sorry for your loss, truly I am but-"  
The man looked up, the pain in his face replaced with fury.  
"I don't want your words. They mean nothing to me. What I want is your actions. I want justice for Corneilia, she deserved more to be killed by a man with more money than sense, who's loved by the whole kingdom. She was worth more than he, you or anyone-" he said gesturing to the king and his advisories, his eyes pausing for a sliver of a moment on Daniel "-'noble' in this hall. You all knew her, too! She had hair as gold as the crown atop your head and eyes as blue as the Irish sea that slams against our shore. She worked in the courtyard selling oysters and cockles too all of you! Yet no one but me wants justice, no one but me wants that 'Lord' to pay for his foul deeds?!"  
Daniel knew the girl of which he spoke, as did most in the kingdom. He was right; for a girl so young she was beautiful, and she could be seen ever morning roaming the courtyard selling fish to noblemen and villagers alike, singing old songs with such a sweet voice they sounded new again. Daniel felt a pang of loss which was quickly overshadowed by the sorrow he felt for Philip.   
He stood before the King a broken man, and some how Daniel knew that he was no stranger to suffering. His eyes were on the floor once more and he was whispering to himself, so low that Daniel had to lean forward and strain to catch even just a few words.  
"She was everything and I was nothing... why was it her and not me...?"  
The King regarded this young man before him and scratched his chin in thought before speaking.  
"What troubles you, really, Mister Lester?"  
Without looking up he replied  
"My mother is too busy to work... your grace. She has 5 young children, one just a babe of four weeks. My father was sent into battle whilst she was pregnant and never came home. Corneilia was the only one of us with a job... now we have nothing..."  
Daniel's father stood from his throne and stepped down so that he could be level with Philip.   
"You seem an intelligent and caring young man, Philip Lester. I shall talk to Lord Benett at once and have him explain his actions for himself... and should you be telling the truth... the realm and royalty shall owe you a severe debt. But because of your raucous actions I must serve some justice. In order for you to learn your lesson and serve your penance before Gods, Men and Kings, you will reside here within this castle and serve your time here. You will be housed, clothed, fed, and any wage that you should receive shall be sent directly to your mother, along with grain rations as a token of our sincerest condolences, how little they may be worth."  
Philip did not look up from the floor, but now wore a mask of contemplation. Daniel could clearly see every thought pass through his head, just by the rapid movement of his eyes; darting from left to right, weighing out the situation.  
His head rose so that he was staring at my father, at perfect eye level.  
"...Okay," he turned away before he stopped. Without looking at the King he muttered   
"Thank you, your grace."

**Author's Note:**

> This is so different to anything I've ever written before  
> I have no idea if I'll keep going with this, as I don't really know how I feel about it, but if people want me to keep going then I totally will! Thank you for reading! ^_^ x
> 
> *SELF PUBLICITY KLAXON*  
> I started a YouTube channel! It would honestly mean so much to me if you could check it out!  
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj7_UTUnkJbi55CTVPQ2nNA/feed


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